Posts tagged Nail Lacquer

I didn’t get many beauty related gifts for Christmas, but one of my friends did give me this beautiful nail varnish as part of my Secret Santa present. The varnish is from Maybelline’s Colour Show BE Brilliant collection, which features four limited edition glitters for Christmas 2014.

The shade I have is called ‘Purple Dazzle’, and consists of purple, pink, blue, gold, and green glitter, both large and micro flakes, in a sheer purple base varnish.

The glitter looks stunning in both indoor and outdoor light. Indoors the pink really dominates, which looks really pretty, but once outdoors the varnish really comes alive, and all the other colours shine through.

The swatch below shows one coat of the glitter worn over one layer of Nails Inc ‘Wigmore Street’, which is a pretty close match to the base colour of ‘Purple Dazzle’, but more opaque. I chose to apply it this way to avoid layering the glitter too much, as it would make it harder to remove. However, like this, it’s easy to remove with a standard nail varnish remover.

The varnish applies nicely, and doesn’t go on too thick even if you dab it on to give an even spread of glitter. It also dries smoothly, so there are no sharp pieces of glitter to snag on clothing.

In my experience, ‘Purple Dazzle’ lasts a couple of days without a top coat before chipping, which is decent, but it’s not the best glitter I’ve tried in terms of staying power.

Overall this is a really lovely glitter, however I went to Superdrug today to pick up another shade and they no longer had it, so it’s very limited edition indeed! They did have a few bottles of another shade left though, so it’s worth checking your local store if you want one.

Well, after two busy weeks of starting a new full time job and planning for a house move, I’m finally back to blogging! Today’s post features two China Glaze shades that were kindly gifted to me by nailpolish.co.uk for review.

Both shades are from the new China Glaze 2014 Autumn collections, and retail for £4.95 each. There are two autumn collections this year – All Aboard Fall and Apocalypse of Colour, and I picked a shade from each.

‘Choo-Choo Choose You’ is from the All Aboard Fall 2014 collection, which includes twelve stunning, on trend autumnal shades. At first glance the varnish looks to be a blue-grey shade with a hint of gold shimmer, but as soon as you move into natural light it explodes with purple, orange and green.

The varnish is a colour changing metallic, which with some brands makes for a streaky finish, but this one goes on perfectly without any imperfections. The formula is slightly runny, but applies nicely and two coats gives an opaque look. The only downside is it takes a little longer to dry than I’d like, but it’s worth the wait.

‘Rest In Pieces’ is from the Apocalypse of Colour collection, which features five Halloween themed shades, all of which have brilliant names! Halloween is my favourite time of year so I was very excited about this range, and it doesn’t disappoint. ‘Rest In Pieces’ is a gorgeous metallic orange, black and gold holographic glitter that reminds me of pumpkins, autumnal leaves and fireworks. Some of my absolute favourite things!

The glitter comprises of various different types of glitter, large flecks, small flecks, micro and straw, which gives fantastic depth and texture. For maximum impact, the varnish is best applied in a dabbing motion rather than brushing, as dabbing leaves more glitter behind. This one dries a lot quicker than the other shade, and makes an amazing top coat. Perfect for adding a little something extra to any autumn mani! I love it.

nailpolish.co.uk is a one stop shop for nail varnish, and they stock a HUGE range of brands, including OPI, Essie and Barry M, and over 350 colours! They also offer free first class delivery on every order. Check them out here.

What do you think of these new China Glaze shades?

Naomi x

*These two China Glaze nail varnishes were sent to me by nailpolish.co.uk for review purposes. All opinions expressed are honest and my own.*

You may remember that at the beginning of January I swatched and reviewed a gorgeous glitter varnish from GOSH’s Frosted Sand collection, called ‘Frosted Purple‘. Well, it officially became one of my favourite varnishes of all time, and I couldn’t wait to add more frosted shades to my collection. In particular I was trying to get hold of ‘Frosted Plum’, but the only bottle in my local Superdrug for months was a damaged one. Then, earlier this week, I noticed that they had a few more in stock, and luckily for me all of GOSH’s varnishes were on offer for £1.99 each! Obviously I bought it straight away and applied it when I got home, so today I thought I’d share the swatches with you.

Like its purple counterpart, ‘Frosted Plum’ is a pleasure to apply, looks opaque in just one coat (although I applied two), and dries really quickly. It’s also rather hard-wearing, and stays put for a good few days without chipping, even without a base or top coat.

The best thing about it though is the colour. The base shade, as you’d expect, is a beautiful deep plum purple, but throughout it are flecks of gold, bronze and bright pink, which give it a brilliant depth. It looks absolutely amazing in the sun, and even indoors it still looks impressive. The glitter in this one is a lot more consistently sized than in ‘Frosted Purple’, and I think it looks a bit like a caviar manicure.

Indoors (with flash)

Outdoors

I’ll stand by my previous statement that GOSH’s Frosted Sand glitters are honestly the best glitters I’ve tried, and I will continue to add to my collection! I have my eye on a couple of their spring pastel shades, ‘Soft Blue’ and ‘Soft Green’, which are also currently £1.99 in Superdrug (reduced from £3.99).

Earlier this week I nipped into Superdrug whilst shopping with my mum, and whilst browsing the make up stands I spotted this gorgeous nail varnish by GOSH. Most GOSH varnishes usually retail for £3.99 each, but the range of ‘Frosted Sand’ glitters, which are very similar to OPI’s Liquid Sand collection, are currently discounted to £1.99. I was instantly drawn to this shade, ‘Frosted Purple‘, as the colour looked incredible in the bottle, so I snapped it up and couldn’t wait to get it home to try it out.

‘Frosted Purple’ is a simply beautiful colour, and is neutral enough to wear with just about anything. It’s a dark silver tone with a lilac tinge, and consists of two sizes of glitter – a very fine micro glitter, with larger flecks throughout. The varnish dries matte, which is quite unusual for a glitter varnish in my experience, and is textured like ‘frosted sand’. It feels slightly rough to the touch, but I’ve used far rougher glitters in the past.

Now, I know this is a bold statement to make, but I think this varnish is the best glitter varnish that I have ever owned/tried. It even beats my trusty favourite brands, Barry M and Models Own. Most glitters need layers and layers for full coverage, but not this one. My swatches show the coverage after just one coat. That’s right, ONE COAT! And it really doesn’t need any more than that, as it’s completely opaque. The formula is lovely too – very smooth and not at all gloopy, so you can actually brush it on (the brush is nice and wide, yay) rather than dab it on, as is usually required with glitters. It also dries very quickly for a glitter.

In terms of hardiness, I’ve been wearing ‘Frosted Purple’ for three days now, and the tips of my nails are just starting to show signs of wear. There are no chips or anything though. I can tell it’s going to be a pain to remove as it has the same texture as Models Own ‘Northern Lights’ and ‘Southern Lights’ which are really tough to get off, but it’s a small price to pay for such a high quality glitter.

EDIT: I was wrong! The varnish was actually really easy to remove with a normal nail varnish remover, and it barely took any soaking or rubbing to get it to budge. I’m very, very impressed.

I spotted four shades in the ‘Frosted Sand’ range, all of which are Toluene-free and Formaldehyde-free. ‘Frosted Silver’, ‘Frosted Gold’, ‘Frosted Purple’, and ‘Frosted Plum’, which I think is a new addition, and is next on my nail varnish shopping list! Will you be trying any? If so, get on down to Superdrug quick to take advantage of the £1.99 offer!

On my birthday I got quite a few bottles of nail varnish, and the one I chose to wear on the day was this one from my mum – Layla Hologram Effect in Ultra Violet. I’ve always liked the look of hologram nail varnishes but have never got round to buying one myself, so I was very pleased to see this in my pile of presents, especially as it’s my favourite colour. Thanks mum!

Layla isn’t a brand that I’m familiar with, but according to their website they are based in Milan, Italy, and sell a wide range of make up as well as nail products.

This varnish has a fairly thick consistency, but it comes with a decent brush so applies easily and evenly, and despite the glittery look dries smooth to the touch. However, it does take a little while to dry, and if you attempt to apply the second coat whilst the first is still sticky it can cause some streaking, so it’s best to be patient with application if you want to achieve neat coverage! It only takes two coats to create an opaque finish, which is always my test of a good quality varnish, and this one passes.

In the bottle, Ultra Violet looks a dusky purple colour with an undertone of grey, but on the nails it looks slightly paler. However, once you’re in the right light the hologram effect really comes alive, and it’s impressively strong! The hologram looks 3D and shines a rainbow of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, pink and purple in both natural and indoor light, and at the same time the glitter shimmers beautifully underneath. It’s difficult to put into words just how stunning this varnish is, so here are a few pictures of it in different lights to give you an idea…

No hologram effect.

Hologram effect without flash.

(It actually looks a lot more colourful than this in reality but it was difficult to capture on camera.)

Hologram effect with flash.

I have been wearing Ultra Violet for three days now, with a top coat, and it has lasted really well. The ends have started to chip today so I will probably remove the varnish soon, but other than that the coverage still looks neat and vibrant.

Overall, I would definitely recommend Layla Hologram Effect Nail Polish as it is excellent quality and the hologram effect is powerful and very, very pretty. A lot better than the Boots 17 hologram varnish I’ve seen in reviews! The colour is a bit more interesting than the typical silver hologram too. If you’d like to try this range for yourself, it may be difficult to locate in shops, but Ultra Violet is available on Amazon here, and you can find other shades here.

Earlier this month, not long after I decided to ban myself from spending for a while, I received an email from Illamasqua to say that they had added more lines to their winter sale, and I couldn’t resist a browse. There were so many lovely things going cheap that I had to restrain myself, but I made a compromise and let myself buy two things that I wanted the most – a gorgeous red lipstick in the shade Tramp (which I will review at a later date), and this beautiful nail varnish, Velocity.

Illamasqua nail varnish usually retails for £13.50, but Velocity cost me just £5 in the sale, which is obviously a massive saving. I love Illamasqua for several reasons – they’re British, they’re cruelty-free, they challenge conventions, their packaging is chic and, importantly, their products are amazing quality, and this varnish is no different.

Velocity is a very beautiful shade with a bit of an edge, which oozes individuality and class. Illamasqua’s website describes it as a dusky grey-purple which is spot on, and it looks fantastic no matter what level of light you’re in. In natural light it looks the colour of vibrant purple heather, with a tinge of grey which stops it being overly bright, and indoors it has a deep plum look to it, which is equally as gorgeous. The varnish also has a glossy finish which gives incredible, eye-catching shine.

The varnish itself has a lovely creamy consistency, which when paired with Illamasqua’s quality varnish brush allows for smooth, easy coverage. It’s also very highly pigmented and gives full coverage with only one coat, but I applied two for a more intense look. The varnish dries quickly too… I was playing Balderdash with my family about ten minutes after painting my nails with Velocity, and I didn’t suffer any smudges or dents!

I’m also really impressed with how long this has lasted so far. For some reason, I didn’t apply a top coat over the top, and after three days the varnish is still wearing well. One nail on my left hand has chipped a bit, but the rest look almost as good as new!

Here is how Velocity looks on the nails, in natural light, after two coats…

I really can’t put into words how much I love this varnish! The colour is stunning and you can really tell when using it that it’s a good quality product. I would happily pay full-price for Illamasqua nail varnish, so I feel very lucky that I managed to get this little gem for only £5. If you want to follow in my footsteps, it’s actually still available in the sale here, but be quick because I think the sale ends soon!

Just a quick post from me today as I want to share with you my recent nail varnish buys. As well as the Models Own sale items I ordered a few weeks ago, I have acquired a few more shiny pretties lately. In fact, they’re ALL glittery! It must be the time of year, what with the party season and Christmas just around the corner.

The most exciting new varnishes in my collection are three from the new Models Own Wonderland range. The range features five sparkly, wintery glitters, all of which give a different stunning effect. The three I went for are…

From Left to Right:

Northern Lights (pink micro holographic glitter)

Southern Lights (purple micro holographic glitter)

Jack Frost (Blue micro glitter in clear varnish)

Aren’t they ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL?? The photos really don’t do them justice. I can’t wait to try them on! I nipped into Boots to buy these yesterday and was extremely pleased to find them included in a 3 for 2 offer, so I got all three for a total of £10, saving £5. If you want the whole set I recommend you grab these whilst they’re on offer as it works out cheaper than buying the full boxed set from the Models Own website!

The next varnish in my little haul is a new one from Barry M – Ruby Glitter.

Barry M released this shade along with a few other glitters a few weeks ago. There are quite a few in the range that I would like (especially Amethyst Glitter), but I went for this one first because I instantly fell in love with it. It consists of different sized flecks of black glitter, studded with red/magenta glitter. It reminds me of Valentines Day (my birthday) for some reason… It just has an air of passion and luxury about it! Like most Barry M Nail Paints, Ruby Glitter retails for an affordable £2.99.

The final little gem in this haul is one that my mum brought back from Portugal last week – a lush purple shade from a range called ‘Yes Love’.

This varnish is Cadbury purple with a delicate golden shimmer running through it. I’m wearing this at the minute and it looks really lovely on. Apparently it only cost a bargainous 1 euro as well, which is a miniscule price tag for such a good quality varnish.

I’ll be reviewing all of these varnishes over the coming days and weeks, starting tomorrow with the ‘Yes Love’ purple so keep an eye out. Which is your favourite so far?

I know, I know, this is my second nail post in a row, but I just couldn’t resist sharing this beautiful shade with you all! I received this Colortrend Nail Enamel in my Avon delivery on Tuesday and as soon as I saw it I thought it was so pretty.

In the brochure and online the varnish is called ‘Violet Freeze’, but for some strange reason it says ‘Very Violet’ on all its packaging. I’m not entirely sure what its real name is, but I’m going to go with ‘Violet Freeze’ as it is an icy blue shade with a multi-tonal tinge of pinky purple. It’s by no means a dupe, but think Models Own ‘Aqua Violet’ or ‘Indian Ocean’. As you would expect of a multi-tonal nail varnish, the colour changes in different lights… In inside light, the blue is lovely and reminds me of the colour of the Disney Cinderella’s dress, but outside is where you see the full beauty of it. The violet hues really come through and alter in depth depending on how you look at your nails. I just can’t put into words how stunning it really is!

The varnish is very sheer – to achieve the coverage seen above I had to apply three coats, and you can still see the white tips of my nails through it. It was no fuss to apply though… It covered my nails evenly with no streakiness as the formula is very cooperative, and it dried impressively quickly. The Colortrend nail enamels have DEFINITELY improved since the range was overhauled! It hasn’t chipped yet either which is always good.

All of the Colortrend Nail Enamels are currently on offer for £2.50 each in Brochure 16 (page 75 if you’re interested), which is a great price for such a lovely shade. Even their usual price is a snip at just £3.

The sun is shining this weekend, so I decided to paint my nails an equally bright colour to reflect the good mood that summer brings. As I mentioned in this post, I received my giveaway prize from Thoughts in Little Boxes earlier this week. The prize was a box of goodies, and in it was this Max Factor Nailfinity nail varnish mini in the very bright shade of ‘Disco Pink’, so it seemed only right to try it out.

Nailfinity’s formula is really quite wonderful. It is fairly thick, but not too thick that it won’t spread easily, and it gives almost completely opaque coverage in one coat (I applied two coats though for more intense colour). I’m not massively keen on the brush as it’s a bit narrow so you have to work quickly to avoid the streaking that can happen with thin brushes, but it’s only a minor issue. The varnish feels dry to the touch in a few minutes, and sets fully a lot quicker than most high street nail varnishes. Less than half an hour after application my nails were good to go and suffered no smudges or scuffs, and for once, no fabric imprints!

‘Disco Pink’ is a vibrant shade of magenta with a creme finish, and has excellent pigmentation. It doesn’t really show in the photo, but it looks almost neon in the daylight. I’m all for mixing clashing brights, and I think this varnish would be the perfect accent to any bold coloured outfit, or would add a flash of fun to basic black.

After a few days of wearing this, there are very few chips or signs of wear on my nails, which is unusual for me. One of my nails has split slightly so there is a big chip there, but other than that it looks almost as good as new. A definite sign of a good quality varnish!

All in all, I think this is a very good nail varnish. The shade is very pretty and girly and suitable for summer, and other than my moan about the brush, I can find nothing else wrong with it. It’s a big, perfectly pink and polished thumbs up from me!

As my regular readers will know, earlier this week I reviewed No7 Stay Perfect Nail Colour in ‘Violetta’. Since I had another £5 No7 voucher to spend, and I was fairly impressed with ‘Violetta’, I decided to add yet another nail varnish to my collection and went back to Boots to pick up ‘Totally Teal’ for £2 (rather than the usual £7).

Since I’ve recently reviewed Stay Perfect Nail Colour, I won’t go into too much detail about this one, as the consistency, drying time etc are the same as ‘Violetta’. What I will say though is this… I know I moaned about the flimsy brush last time, but now I’m used to it I found the application of this a lot easier as I now know how to control the brush properly. Because of this, the application was quick and neat – the brush is wide so you can apply an even coat in one stroke, which results in very little mess!

‘Totally Teal’ is a very pretty shade, sort of a deep bluey green that reminds me of the sea and mermaids. I have to say though, it goes on a lot darker than it looks in the bottle, which is slightly disappointing as it isn’t as bright as I had hoped. I still have a soft spot for it though, and I think it would like great as a pedi. It is definitely one of the more conservative nail shades that I own, but I’m looking forward to incorporating it into some aquatic nail art designs!

I took my own advice and did my mani a long time before bed this time, and it stopped the fabric imprints appearing on my nails. The varnish hasn’t stayed looking neat for long though… The picture above was taken this morning, and you can already see wear on the tip of my little finger nail. Since then, six more of my nails have chipped or scuffed, and I’ve been wearing it for less than a day! Not good.

Though I like the shades in the Stay Perfect range, I wouldn’t pay the full £7 for them. I’d rather spend a fiver on a Models Own polish as I know they’re great quality and good value for money as they last a long time. If I get any more £5 No7 vouchers though, they’ll probably go on more nail colours.